Fede Valverde interview: Real Madrid vs Liverpool, Champions League final

Fede Valverde (Montevideo, 1998) is getting ready for the Champions League final this Saturday between his side, Real Madrid, and English Premier League runners-up Liverpool, meaning he arrives at his interview with AS having been training in preparation for the big match and attended to his media duties at the Madrid Open Media day, at the Spanish soccer club’s Valdebebas training ground.

Despite everything going on, the Uruguayan midfielder gives us a strong statement about Saturday’s end-of-season showdown: “I’m young and I want to play.”

Valverde interview

Q: How are you?

Valverde: Great. Fired up.

Q: Nervous?

Valverde: Yes, of course, a little bit, obviously. It’s part of football, that footballers have these nerves, and more so for me, because I’m going to play a Champions League final.

Q: But you say the nerves help you to focus, to perform in the game

Valverde: Yes, because sometimes, if your head is thinking of other things, in other moments that aren’t actually happening [right now], at the end of the day you’re not concentrating. Nerves help me focus on the game, focus on each move, be alert. Bring on the nerves, they’re part of football. And for me it’s a good thing.

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Q: What memories do you have of Real Madrid’s European Cup finals?

Valverde: Very few, truthfully, in Uruguay it wasn’t easy to watch and in my house we watched very little European football - we couldn’t. I only watched football from there. But as I got older I was able to watch the most recent Champions League finals and enjoyed them a lot, though you suffer too. When you’re a fan but you can’t be there, helping and doing your bit, when you’re in your house, that’s when it’s the worst. But I’m so happy for everything my teammates have achieved; they deserve it. Hopefully, the youngsters in the dressing room can land another Champions League for them

Q: This is the Champions League of Real Madrid comebacks: against PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City… it will go down in history no matter what happens in the final. Do you think it would only be fair for Real Madrid to win this edition of the Champions League, as Luis Enrique said?

Valverde: If only everything was down to what’s deserved, if it came down to that I think maybe we would get the title. But the main thing is to approach things with humility and effort again this Saturday, keep fighting till the end as we’ve done in recent games, and hope that the boost we can get from the supporters helps us a lot. But the main thing is to stay humble, put in physical and mental effort - everything needs to be right for things to go well.

Q: Zidane said you’re a modern player; Ancelotti put you in the group of players who had most surprised him in the dressing room; the Uruguay coach, Diego Alonso, said you ‘ooze football’, and you can play anywhere… Why do coaches like you so much?

Valverde: [Laughs] It’s lovely to hear that coaches you’ve had to have say nice things about you, for me it’s a source of pride and motivation, to keep working hard, to keep making an effort and building on what you’ve done wherever you are, which for me is Madrid and the national side. It’s wonderful to hear those words.

Q: Could it be because of your habit of never avoiding a sprint, a chance to press, to make an effort. You make life easier for the coaches.

Valverde: That’s my approach to the game and my values on the pitch: never give a ball up for lost, always be ready to give everything for the team even though you’re tired, help your teammate… That’s my way of playing. And when you win, when you’re achieving things, it’s great. It helps me to become an example at Madrid and with Uruguay, which is my goal.

Q: You’re playing Liverpool, a team that’s always notable for its fast pace, capacity to raise the tempo in games and make them end-to-end. A team that plays like you. Does that mean this has to be Valverde’s final?

Valverde: Let’s hope so! Liverpool is a great team, an example to everyone and admirable for everyone in football round the world. They’ve got great players and are well coached. Physically they are great, when they’re not winning, which doesn’t happen very often, they’re always fighting till they draw level, and then they always go ahead… They deserve to be in the final. I’ve been watching their games lately and they’ve been in the hunt for every title, which is amazing. But we’ve also done our bit to be where we are.

Q: Liverpool were fighting for the Premier League title till the end, but couldn’t win it. Is that good, because they’ll be down, or is it bad because they’ll be coming into this to forget about that?

Valverde: I don’t think it has any effect. Obviously when you don’t win a title, you get angry, it hurts. But I don’t think a Champions League final compares with anything. It’s unique. They’re going to be strong for the final, and we need to be mentally focused, concentrating, ready to fight for our teammates and the team to do our best. And even if we’re tired, we need to keep trying, keep fighting.

Q: Who are you worried about at Liverpool? Who do you most respect?

Valverde: All of them, I think if I name one that would be a lack of respect to the other Liverpool players. It’s a great squad and they’re well trained in every part of the pitch. Their players on the bench are in great form too, when the come on they turn games around. They’re a great team, from first to last.

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Q: You said before the first leg away to Manchester City that you’d got your place back after losing it, and you didn’t want that to happen again. Have you been worried thinking that you might not be a regular starter?

Valverde: Yes, yes. Obviously it’s tough, sometimes really tough. When you want to play and you can’t, when you want more minutes and you don’t get them. I’m young and I want to play, and if I don’t, I have a terrible time. But that’s when you need to have your head on properly, work harder, train well, eat well, and set yourself the challenge of getting back in the side. That’s the most important thing.

Q: Now you are a definite starter, there’s no doubt. You’ve started five of the six knock-out games in the Champions League. You’ve gone from Little Bird (Pajarito in Spanish) to Falcon (Halcón).

Valverde: That’s true! We’ve completely changed.

Q: Do you like the nickname more?

Valverde: Yes, a fair bit. At least it’s a little bit scary [laughs]

Q: You said last year that you’d done things that weren’t right for Madrid player and that’s why you weren’t playing so much. Now you’re doing the right thing. How has Valverde changed?

Valverde: I’ve changed a lot. Right now I’m a lot more mature, not just as a footballer, but in my personal life too, which is always fundamental for a player. I take more care of my diet at home, my rest, my mental state, I’m more relaxed facing situations that could be great, but also those that aren’t great. You need to be calm and I’ve worked a lot to bring it all together, so that everything is a chain going in the same direction. It all helps me a lot, thanks to that I’m where I am.

Q: Does it mess with your head having so many injuries?

Valverde: No, not at all. Because things happen for a reason. If you have so many injuries it’s because you’re not doing something right. That helps you get better, they are warnings life gives you so you can correct things. The injuries helped me grow, footballing-wise and personally.

Q: You’re much keener on shooting from outside the box now. Before you were rather timid about it and wouldn’t let fly. Is that an Ancelotti thing?

Valverde: He’s asked me for that, a lot. And for some time now. I think I’m getting pretty good. For the Uruguay team I’ve done it quite a lot recently, and that gives me confidence when I’m with Madrid to be able to show that it’s one of my best abilities. I need to show it. Hopefully I can get a goal in the final. That would wonderful.

Q: In the end, Mbappé isn’t coming to Madrid, and the day the decision was made public you posted on social media a message saying: “Being at Madrid is a privilege not everyone can have”. And, of course, everyone took it as a dig at the Frenchman, who preferred PSG to a new adventure at Madrid.

Valverde: No, no. Everyone can interpret it as they wish. I post on social media so the people can be informed; I talk about Real Madrid, about me and my team. Anyone who wants to interpret it in a different way, that’s up to them. We know how good Mbappé is as a player, we know what he brings, what he can give a team, he’s a spectacular player. But we’re only thinking about winning the final on Saturday, and landing another title for Real Madrid. I’d rather not say anything more about Mbappé.

Q: What would you give to win this Champions League?

Valverde: So much. Everything, I think. It’s a unique trophy for any player in the world. I’m willing to give so many things. Except my son…maybe my wife [laughs]. No, no, it’s a joke! But I’d give a lot it’s not every day you manage to play in a final Hopefully we can win the title.

Q: You’ve won LaLiga, the Spanish Super Cup and now you add the Champions League. For a Madrid that, as has been said, is in transition. Did you feel underestimated?

Valverde: When you don’t get results, for two or three games where things don’t turn out the way you wanted, you always start to hear people giving their opinions. And that’s normal. It’s part of football. When a team isn’t doing well, people look for things to complain about. But the criticism gave us a lot of motivation to keep getting better and improving throughout the year. And to reach the final we’ll play on Saturday.